Public Finance and Public Policy 2

This course analyzes the rationales for government intervention in the economy, the form that intervention takes, and the effects of government policy.  In terms of theory, the course will cover public goods and the incidence and deadweight loss of taxation, income redistribution, and the role of empirical evidence in public finance.  It will cover welfare and social insurance programs, including unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and social security.  On the tax side, it will cover income and payroll taxation, estate taxation and labor supply responses to taxes.  Given current policy debates we will emphasize social security reform and income tax reform.